Pargas

Pargas
	Pargas; Pargas – Parainen
	— Former town —
	Pargas stad; Paraisten kaupunki
	; Coat of arms
	; Coat of arms
	Location of Pargas in Northern Europe
	Coordinates: 60°18′N 022°18′E / 60.3°N 22.3°E
Country	Finland
Province	Western Finland
Region	Finland Proper
Sub-region	Åboland
Consolidated	2009
	Government
- City manager	Folke Öhman
	Area
- Total	480 km2 (185.3 sq mi)
- Water	206.4 km2 (79.7 sq mi)
	Population (2006)
- Total	12,153
- Density	44.3/km2 (114.7/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+2)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+3)
Official languages	Swedish, Finnish
Website	www.pargas.fi

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Pargas (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈpɑrɡɑs]; Finnish: Parainen, pronounced [ˈpɑrɑinen]) is a former town and municipality in south-western Finland. On 1 January 2009, it was consolidated with Houtskär, Iniö, Korpo and Nagu to form the new town of Väståboland.

It is known as the "capital" of the archipelago of Turku and had been a city since 1977. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Finland Proper region. The town had a population of 12,153 (as of 2006) and covered an area of 272.79 km² (excluding sea) of which 1.19 km² is inland water. The population density was 44.27 inhabitants per km².

The municipality was bilingual, with the majority (54%) being Swedish and the minority (45%) Finnish speakers.

It is the only city in Mainland Finland that is situated on an island.

The city has many little suburbs around it, including Kirjala and Lielax.